


Change

by IvyCpher



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Gen, Good Draco Malfoy, Mirror of Erised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:10:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23987890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyCpher/pseuds/IvyCpher
Summary: First year Draco Malfoy stumbles across the Mirror of Erised, and who he sees inside surprises him. He sees Harry Potter.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	Change

Draco sniffled as he walked down the deserted school halls. He was tired and he knew he wasn't allowed to be out of the Slytherin dormitory with it being as late as it was, but he couldn't sleep and he didn't want to sit in the common room all alone. He could've woken up Crabbe or Goyle, but they were just as good conversationalists asleep as they were awake. So, instead of being alone in the dormitories, Draco took to being alone in the gigantic halls of Hogwarts.

The castle had so many cool, hidden things that Draco loved to find, especially at night. He didn't mind that he was doing it alone, or maybe he did just a little, but he didn't have any good friends to truly go exploring with. Crabbe and Goyle were no more than just a combination of a troll and a house elf, they did whatever he said but they weren't really his friends. Even at 11 years old Draco knew that. And while it made Draco a bit sad, and maybe even a bit envious of that Harry Potter for having such good friends (even despite who they were), he pushed that all away and continued on.

Draco wondered what it took to have good friends… His father had already sent him a scolding letter for not having tried harder to befriend Harry Potter. Harry seemed to have so many people just flooding to be his friend because of his stupid scar and nice personality, while Draco had none. He started to wonder that maybe if  _ he  _ was nice too, if  _ he  _ stopped caring about the blood that ran through peoples' veins and who their family were, then maybe he could get a good friend too.

Ah, but Draco knew that that would be impossible. Harry and many others already hated him, and he didn't blame them, he said some very rude things to them before he could even think about it. Sometimes Draco noticed that when he spoke, it wasn't him that was talking but his father, and he didn't like that at all.

With his mind full of tumbling thoughts, Draco had stopped paying attention to where he was going and walked into a large door. He quickly looked around in case the noise had alerted any teachers patrolling the halls. He sighed when he saw no one coming to apprehend him and looked up at the door. It was plain and bland looking, but when he had bumped into it it opened a crack.

Curiously, Draco closed one eye and moved his face close to the crack to look inside the room. It was dark and mostly empty except for some desks pushed up against the wall. But in the moonlight coming through the window he could see the shimmering of a tall, golden framed mirror. "What is that doing here?" He asked, quietly to himself.

Unable to help his curiosity, Draco pushed open the door and stepped into the empty classroom. Being it early December and for the fact that the heat was probably off in the room since it wasn't in use, Draco's breath puffed out of his mouth like short lived clouds. He shut the door behind him and stepped quickly over to the mirror.

Though it was much taller than him, Draco could read the inscription at the top of the mirror by standing on his tippy toes.  _ "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?" _ He read unsurely. "What a stupid thing for a mirror to say, it doesn't make any sense!"

Dropping back to his normal stance, Draco crossed his arms over his chest and looked into the mirror. And when he did, he nearly screamed at who he saw:  _ Harry Potter. _ With a gasp, Draco spun around and looked behind him, but there was no one in the room but himself. "Potter?" He asked the emptiness, scared to see if Harry really was there.

When nothing appeared, Draco turned back and looked in the mirror. He wasn't as surprised to see Harry there with his reflection as he had been the first time. He wondered what the mirror did and  _ why  _ it was showing him Harry Potter. Draco took a few steps closer to the mirror and observed as the reflected Harry stayed there, smiling.

"You're Harry Potter?" Draco asked quietly.

When the reflection nodded, Draco stepped back. Even though he wasn't looking at the real Harry (the real Harry would never smile at him like that), it felt nearly nice to be there with him. The reflection didn't frown at him or look sulky and angry like the real Harry Potter did at him. Draco was unable to help from smiling as he looked in the mirror, and he was uncertain as to why. But he knew that just looking at his reflection with the mirror Harry was making him feel happy in a way he couldn't understand.

After a while, Draco got tired of standing and sat on the floor. He was excited to see that the mirror Harry followed him and sat behind him. And even though the floor was cold and it made his skin feel numb, he didn't mind. Because even though he was cold, there was something that made him feel good about staring into the mirror. Soon, Draco had a great idea, though the Harry in the mirror couldn't talk, he could still nod and shake his head like anyone else. So Draco began to speak to him.

Draco spoke to the mirror Harry in ways he knew that he couldn't speak to the real Harry… He spoke like he had never upset him, like they actually got along and he had never said all the wrong things when they first met. It felt nice for Draco to talk like that, even if who he was talking to wasn't the real Harry Potter and he couldn't speak back to him. It felt nice even though Draco knew that he would never be able to speak to the real Harry like that. It just felt nice.

For so long Draco just spoke to the reflected Harry in the mirror. He spoke until he got tired and couldn't stay up any longer. It was only then that he left the mirror in the secret room that he had never seen before. On his way back to the Slytherin dormitories, Draco paid extra attention to the paintings and hangings on the walls. He wanted to be able to find the secret room again. He wanted to be able to speak to the Harry in the mirror again.

And so, Draco did return to the mirror again. He returned the next night and the night after that. But on the third night of visiting the mirror, Draco was in such a hurry that he didn't bother to be as precautious as he was on the first two nights. He bound into the room, adrenalin pumping in his veins over the scare of having just snuck past Filtch and his ugly cat, and at the excitement of getting to see the mirror Harry again. It wasn't until he was staring into the mirror, however, that he could sense he was not alone.

Slowly, young Draco turned around in the empty classroom. He was surprised to find it not as empty as he was used to with Professor Dumbledore sitting on the edge of one of the desks. His hands were folded neatly on his lap and he looked almost as though he was expecting Draco with how he tilted his head to the side and smiled warmly at him. "Good evening, Draco. It's a bit late for a midnight stroll, wouldn't you think?"

"Professor?" Draco asked quietly. He took a step backwards and his back hit the cold glass of the mirror. He was worried that Dumbledore would be angry at him for leaving his dormitories and coming to what he guessed was supposed to be a  _ hidden _ mirror. He hoped that Dumbledore would not write his father about this… His father had given him many a clear instruction to stay away from Dumbledore and to not draw any attention to himself in his presence.

Dumbledore slid off the desk and looked about the room, "Ah," He said, "But I don't think you came to this particular room for a stroll."

Slowly, Draco edged away from the mirror with a nod. "Professor-" He began when Dumbledore didn't appear to be angry at him. "What-... What does the mirror do? It's not like any mirror I've seen before."

"Well, let me answer your question with a question." Dumbledore said. He peered into the mirror for a moment before turning back to Draco. "What do you see reflected back at you in that mirror?"

Draco opened his mouth but then quickly shut it. He didn't know if his answer would seem silly, but he just knew that Dumbledore would be able to see through him if he lied. "I see… I see Harry Potter, sir." He said quietly, looking at the floor.

Dumbledore nodded like he knew that was what he was going to say. "Now to answer your earlier question, Draco… Let's presume that the happiest man in the world came across this mirror. If he were to look into it, he would see nothing but his own reflection."

It took Draco a second to reply as he thought about that information. "So it makes you see what would make you the happiest?" He asked, and when Dumbledore nodded again he was unable to help his proud smile from figuring out the answer. Draco turned around to look into the mirror but Dumbledore put a gentle hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"I must warn you, Draco, men have wasted away in front of this mirror." He cautioned. "Wondering if what they see is real or ever will be real… It's a dangerous thing, this mirror, and I urge you not to return to it again."

Hot anger flooded Draco and he felt his cheeks go pink. "But- but, Professor! I can't!" He shook his head and stepped away so that Dumbledore's hand fell from his shoulder. "What I see in this mirror- it's something that I'll never be able to have!" He said, louder than he wanted too. He resisted the urge to stomp his foot like a child like he did in rows with his mother to get what he wanted. "It'll never happen…" He said quieter, when he felt tears stinging at his eyes.

Dumbledore pretended to be more interested in looking out the window while Draco wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "If Harry Potter is who you see in the mirror," He said once Draco had composed himself. "Someone who very well exists… I believe you just might be able to befriend him."

Draco was unable to think of how Dumbledore knew what he wanted, but he was certain that if he asked he wouldn't be given an answer. "But…  _ how?"  _ He asked, straining the question. "I've been rude to him and to his friends! He'd never want to befriend me!"

Dumbledore raised a hand to silence Draco who kept sputtering out excuses. "What you have here is a genuine desire to become his friend, yes? But are you willing to change how you act as a person to be his friend? Words mean nothing if you don't fulfill them with meaningful actions."

Pausing, Draco made his hands into fists at his sides. "Yes, I can change how I act… I can stop being rude and stop saying the things my father and his friends say. But- even after all I've done to him, how will I know that Harry will want to be my friend?"

"You don't know," Admitted Dumbledore. "But you can know that improving yourself in such a way as you plan to do will open you to more possibilities of having true friends. But…" He looked at Draco rather sadly for a moment. "Trust that it is never too late for change and to better yourself as long as you truly mean it." He nodded and walked to the door, pulling it open. "Kindly head off to bed now, I hope to not find you looking for this mirror again."

With a longing glance over his shoulder at the mirror, Draco nodded. "Yes, Professor." He walked out the door ahead of Dumbledore and headed back in the direction of the Slytherin dormitories, thinking hard about what Dumbledore had said. He wondered if Dumbledore had ever had a person like Harry Potter who he was rude to and mucked things up with, and maybe that was why he knew so much about change. But he didn't care whether or not that was true, he only cared about if he could change enough so that Harry Potter would like him.

He hoped he could change enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't know where this idea came from but I still think that JK was too much of a dumbass to pass up on what could have been a beautiful redemption arc with Draco but nooooooo all Slytherins have to be bad
> 
> Comments are very much appreciated!!!


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